Auxiliary sole for footwear



Aug. 2 1927. 1,637,809

J. L. G. DYKES AUXILIARY SOLE FOR FOOTWEAR Filed. April 23. 1926 LA I jo/ Patented Aug. 2, 1 927.

UNITEDy STATES 1,637,809 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. G. DYKES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

i AUXILIARY SOLE FOR FOOTWEAR.

Application filed April 23, 1926. Serial No. 104,083.

The desirability of such an auxiliary sole' has already been appreciated in connection with protecting the footwear from water and a special variety of rubber overshoe, called a toe rubber,4 has been designed, which consists of a sole and a very much reduced vamp and upper Vheel portion for engaging the edge of the sole and the bulge of the vamp, which vamp and upper heel portion is carried rearwardly of the sole in a loop for engaging' the footwear at or adjacent the ankle. Such special rubber overshoes, however, have hitherto been regarded as only suitable for light service as the reduced vamp and its direct extension around the posterior portion of the foot does not secure a sufficiently dependable assembly with the footwear to withstand anything but light service.

It will be at once appreciated that if an auxiliary sole can be dependably, attachably and -detachably secured tol footwear its ca pabilities and uses will be greatly extended over the uses of the mere overshoe and its special form the toe rubber. For instance, such auxiliary sole may be employed for increasing the service and useful life of the.

shoe itself; it may be employed for emergency repairs to the sole'; and by providing it with suit-able' configuration it may be removably attached for temporarily securing vall of the functions for which hobs, bosses and cleats are now permanently secured directly to the sole.

I attain the provision of a dependahly attachable and detachable auxiliary sole for footwear by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective illustration of a portion of a shoe with my invention in assembly therewith; Y

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the form of my illallvention shown in Fig. 1 separate from a s oe;

.Fig 3 is a bottom plan of ashoe, such as is shown in Fig. 1, showing the manner 'of assembly ofmy yauxiliary sole therewith, a.' slightly modified manner of assembly being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section through the sole of the footwear and auxiliary sole in assembly on line 4-4 of Fig.

Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

My auxiliary sole is designed for assembly and use with those varieties of footwear which include a sole and a. vamp having a groove, depression or channel at. the line of' junction between these parts. The sole proper, 10, of my auxiliary sole has a plan o r outline which registers with or nearly approximates the outline of the solo of the footwear with which it is' assembled from the toerearwardly to points l1 on each edge Somewhat posterior to the widest portion of the sole, from' which points runs a truncated triangular apron or extension, 12, to just in front of the heel of the footwear. As my auxiliary sole covers only the sole of the Lfootwear there are no objections whatever to making it of material impervious to air as littlel or no ventilation reaches the foot through the sole of the footwear. For moisture insulation and general uses I therefore form the-portion of the sole above described of Ivulcanized rubber suitably reinforced with fabric as is the present best practice in fabricating rubber overshoes. However, it should be clearly understood that such a method of fabrication of the sole proper is by no means necessary to the practice of my invention and that any suitable material or materials andmethod of fabrication may be employed, the only limitation being that kthe sole proper, when formed, must be capalble of incorporation or vulcanization with the remainder of the structure to be now described.

Running around the edge of the forward portion of the sole proper between the points 11, ll, is a right angular or upstanding flange or web, 13, of a height or width approximately that of the sole of the footwear with which the auxiliary sole is to be assembled, land of a thickness and composition such as to secure relatively greater elasticity thanthe body of the sole proper.V Vulcanized in or to the top, or the inner face at the top edge', of the flange or web 13 is a constricting element, 14, which extends rearwardly of the ends of the flange or web, and is of such a length or extent as to form a the footwear with which it is assembled isl of the gist of my invention, and its function is to constrict and secure the top of the fiange or web 13 within the depression or groove 17 between the sole and vamp of the footwear as well as to support and hold the-apron 12 against, the lower` surface of the arch of the sole of the footwear.- The crossing or twisting of the rearwardly looped portion of the constricting element 14 beneath the arch of the sole of the footwear not only greatly improves'the gripping capabilities of this element by holding it tightly to the widest portions of the sole and forward corners of the heel, but also, by'means of a greater or less amount of twist, affords facilities for a nice regulation of the desired degree of constriction. The element 14 may be formed of vulcanized cord having some inherent elasticity, or of metallic wire covered with vulcanized rubber, which has little or no inherent. elasticity, as the soles of all footwear may be slightly flexed or curved downwardly, to a position they would never assume in service which shortens the distance between the extremities of the sole of the footwear and permits the element 14 to be put in position.

Having described my ninvention, what I claim as new and desire to Secure by Letters Patent` is 1. In combination with footwear including a sole and an upper having a depressionL or groove at their juncture, an auxiliary sole.

upper edgeof said flange when in assembly with footwear, consisting of an endless, uniform, vulcanized, reinforced cord or'bead running along the upper edge of said flange and extending rearwardly thereof and adapted to be twisted beneath the arch and entering the groove between the heel and upper of said footwear.

- JOHN L. G. DYKES.-

'50 ing of a continuous, uniform vulcanized, vre- 

